A View From The Back Of The Room: Doom For Mental Health

Pantheist, Warcrab & Lung, Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff, 24.08.24

Doom For Mental Health, may sound like a juxtaposition but for many, my wife and myself included, listening to something downbeat, sad, maudlin when we're depressed or upset or worried, acts as sort of a catharsis, a way of letting these feelings flow through us and be released, letting us feel better, hopefully.

A gig in support of the charities Help Musicians and Music Minds Matter, both are funded entirely by music lovers, one allows musicians and those in the music industry to access the right tools to thrive, the other is concerned with mental health of those involved in what is an increasingly hostile industry.

With the headliners playing as much as possible since their live reactivation, they have moved up from various Fuel gigs onto the more grand stage of Clwb Ifor Bach bringing with them two support acts that brought the heavy and the extreme to Clwb.

First off were Lung (8) a weed influenced doom trio who I've seen kill in The Moon, brought more fuzz and thunder to Clwb, perfect sound made sure that they were able to "speed run" through their set despite having marathon length songs. Halfway through one of those said songs there was a string break on the guitar but a little bass and drum action as there was a change, and an admirable job of filling was rewarded with a gremlin-less rest of the set. Lung do doom well, It's bong driven loudness that invites slow headbanging.

Next then something a bit quicker as black/death band Warcrab (8) from Plymouth made their mark on the audience. Aggressive and vicious, they have played with the headliners before and made the most of the audience by showcasing their near 20 years of experience as a band. Bridging the gap between death, black and sludge metal they locked into furious blasts of DM extremity and longer louder sludge grooves. Warcrab came to Cardiff to prove why they belong on a bill like this, well I'd say that was job done.

Finally it was the now Wales based atmospheric doom veterans Pantheist (9). Since their reactivation, they have adapted boasting soprano vocals and new material too, there's a distinct evolution to Pantheist which has taken the project founded by vocalist/keyboardist Kostas to new heights. Each time I see them they seem to get better, Atanas' custom Ltd 7-String rings out with distorted, echoed, reverbed heaviness, typical of the doom genre, cresting a cacophony that is matched by the throbbing, hypnotic bass of Matt.

Playing three songs in an hour set could be dangerous but bands that dwell in the doom and prog genres can get away from it. Fanel's drumming allows various changes of pace and propulsion, giving space but also letting the songs have devastating heaviness too. Kostas' keys/organs/synths evoke the inverted-religious atmosphere they try to create, clad in cassocks and rosaries it's always an attempt at a spiritual experience that pays off. As they closed the night with new track Kings Must Die, the counterpoint of Kostas' rage-filled blackened screams and Linda's incredible soprano range brings Pink Floyd merged with Esoteric as funeral doom is given a progressive overhaul.

Probably the best I've seen them perform with this line up, a true experience akin to an hour long distorted liturgy. All for charity and incredibly successful, Pantheist are in rude health in 2024, longer sets and more recognition await.